New York City has often been called the “city that never sleeps.” Using data from the most recent American Community Survey estimates, FindTheHome found the city in each state with the highest percentage of people who start their workday between noon and midnight.
Despite its reputation, NYC doesn’t make the list.
Instead, the late-night crown belongs many college towns and casino cities, such as Eugene, Oregon (home to the University of Oregon) and Atlantic City, New Jersey. Ithaca, which beat out NYC with nearly 30 percent of people working late, is home to Cornell University and Ithaca College. Since most college students attend class during the day, it makes sense that those needing extra cash might work nights.
Though occupational health researchers have long known the pitfalls of working at night, many people still work graveyard shifts — either by necessity or choice. From 24 hour diners to companies trying to leverage their capital (expensive machines don’t stop working at night, after all), approximately 3.2 percent of people in the U.S. work night shifts.
While some cities are home to particularly early-rising populations, the cities on this list are home to America’s night owls.
Note: The city whose population is closest to the 95th percentile within each state is used as the population minimum. We consider all cities at or above that size. In the case of ties, cities with larger populations are ranked higher.
#50. New Hampshire: Rochester
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 16.6%
Population: 29,883
#49. Hawaii: Waipahu
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 17%
Population: 40,532
#48. Montana: Missoula
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 17.5%
Population: 68,377
Local Colleges: University of Montana
#47. Oregon: Eugene
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 17.6%
Population: 158,131
Local Colleges: University of Oregon, Northwest Christian University, New Hope Christian College
#46. Wyoming: Jackson Hole
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 18.4%
Population: 9,967
#45. Maine: Bangor
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 18.4%
Population: 32,800
Local Colleges: New England School of Communications, Husson University
#44. Rhode Island: Providence
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 18.8%
Population: 178,562
Local Colleges: Brown University, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence College, Rhode Island College, Johnson & Wales University
Note: Only two cities in Rhode Island met our population filters.
#43. California: El Cajon
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 18.9%
Population: 101,582
#42. Washington: Bellingham
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 19.1%
Population: 82,080
Local Colleges: Western Washington University
#41. Vermont: Burlington
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 19.4%
Population: 42,342
Local Colleges: University of Vermont, Champlain College, Burlington College
#40. Colorado: Pueblo
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 19.4%
Population: 107,706
Local Colleges: Colorado State University, Pueblo
#39. New Mexico: Sunland Park
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 20.1%
Population: 14,794
#38. Tennessee: Cleveland
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 20.1%
Population: 42,331
Local Colleges: Lee University, Southern Adventist University
#37. Alabama: Anniston
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 20.9%
Population: 22,749
#36. Massachusetts: Springfield
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 21%
Population: 153,836
Local Colleges: Western New England University, Springfield College-School of Human Services, Springfield College, American International College
#35. Connecticut: Hartford
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 21.4%
Population: 125,211
Local Colleges: Trinity College
#34. North Dakota: Wahpeton
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 21.9%
Population: 7,804
#33. Arizona: Flagstaff
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 21.9%
Population: 67,419
Local Colleges: Northern Arizona University, CollegeAmerica-Flagstaff
#32. Delaware: Dover
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 22%
Population: 36,826
Local Colleges: Wesley College, Delaware State University
#31. Maryland: Hagerstown
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 22.2%
Population: 40,295
Local Colleges: Kaplan University-Hagerstown Campus
#30. North Carolina: Goldsboro
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 22.6%
Population: 35,908
#29. Oklahoma: Stillwater
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 22.7%
Population: 46,851
Local Colleges: Oklahoma State University-Main Campus
#28. West Virginia: Morgantown
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 23%
Population: 30,133
Local Colleges: West Virginia University
#27. Mississippi: Hattiesburg
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 23.3%
Population: 46,629
Local Colleges: William Carey College, University of Southern Mississippi
#26. Florida: Pine Hills
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 23.3%
Population: 64,516
#25. South Carolina: Greenwood
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 23.8%
Population: 23,296
Local Colleges: Lander University
#24. Georgia: Valdosta
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 23.9%
Population: 56,324
Local Colleges: Valdosta State University
#23. Louisiana: Hammond
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 24.1%
Population: 20,207
Local Colleges: Southeastern Louisiana University
#22. Alaska: Kodiak
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 24.4%
Population: 6,280
#21. Missouri: Warrensburg
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 24.4%
Population: 19,548
Local Colleges: University of Central Missouri
#20. Kentucky: Murray
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 25%
Population: 18,375
Local Colleges: Murray State University
#19. Utah: Logan
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 25.1%
Population: 48,933
Local Colleges: Utah State University, Stevens-Henager College
#18. Idaho: Rexburg
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 25.6%
Population: 26,301
Local Colleges: Brigham Young University-Idaho
#17. Virginia: Harrisonburg
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 25.8%
Population: 50,821
Local Colleges: James Madison University, Eastern Mennonite University
#16. Minnesota: Austin
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 26.2%
Population: 24,760
#15. Texas: Huntsville
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 26.2%
Population: 39,764
Local Colleges: Sam Houston State University
#14. Arkansas: Russellville
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 26.6%
Population: 28,581
Local Colleges: Arkansas Tech University
#13. Nevada: Spring Valley
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 26.7%
Population: 183,937
#12. Nebraska: Schuyler
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 28.2%
Population: 6,195
#11. Illinois: DeKalb
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 28.2%
Population: 44,092
Local Colleges: Northern Illinois University
#10. South Dakota: Vermillion
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 28.5%
Population: 10,697
Local Colleges: University of South Dakota
#9. New York: Ithaca
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 28.5%
Population: 30,399
Local Colleges: Ithaca College, Cornell University
#8. Indiana: East Chicago
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 29.1%
Population: 29,387
#7. New Jersey: Atlantic City
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 29.1%
Population: 39,521
#6. Kansas: Liberal
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 29.6%
Population: 20,846
#5. Wisconsin: La Crosse
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 29.6%
Population: 51,864
Local Colleges: University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Viterbo University
#4. Pennsylvania: York
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 29.7%
Population: 43,817
Local Colleges: York College Pennsylvania, The Art Institutes of York-PA, Pennsylvania State University-Penn State York
#3. Ohio: Lima
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 30.7%
Population: 38,432
Local Colleges: Ohio State University-Lima Campus, University of Northwestern Ohio
#2. Michigan: East Lansing
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 31.4%
Population: 48,611
Local Colleges: Michigan State University, Great Lakes Christian College
#1. Iowa: Storm Lake
Percent Leaving for Work Between Noon and Midnight: 33.1%
Population: 10,743
Local Colleges: Buena Vista University
